Here's the thing...I'm not always awesome. I know some of you will find that hard to believe. For those who aren't sure, here's some proof.
It's possible I've been an idiot in exactly the same way twice. It's possible I've managed to kill the battery on an airport-parked long-term car twice in 18 months.
Fortunately, because of my former stupidity, I've become an expert in finding fellow airport patrons who pack jumper cables. It took about 20 seconds of loaned electrons from a Cadillac Escalade to bring the TSX back to life.
All of it, that is -- and here comes the point, I promise -- except the radio. As you can see it requires a code. So I called Acura's customer care number. Took about ten minutes of talking to Steve to sort out the confusion about who actually owns the car (Acura, it's on loan to us) and prove to him that I didn't steal it so he'd give me the code. That part would likely be much easier if you owned the car yourself.
Or you could just remember to turn off the interior lights before you fly to Detroit for three days.
133712 says:
03:31 PM, 01/11/12
wtf? a special code to reactivate the radio? who's the genius behind that?
wizard8873 says:
03:56 PM, 01/11/12
@133712 - my old 99 Eclipse had this same feature. Haven't seen it around in a while though but it's supposed to deter people from stealing the headunit. Sucks when you buy the car used and have no clue of the code.
altimadude05 says:
04:10 PM, 01/11/12
GM used a similar system called TheftLock. We never enabled it in our radios so I personally can't vouch for it's theft-deterrence/pain-in-the-tush effectiveness.
pezzy669 says:
04:27 PM, 01/11/12
No battery saver feature on a entry level luxury car??? Really Honda/Acura?
allthingshonda says:
04:46 PM, 01/11/12
It does have a battery saver feature that turns off the lights if a door is left open or not closed all the way after 15 minutes. Most domestic vehicles will turn off all interior lighting after a set amount of time. American made vehicles are perceived by some to be less advanced than their import counterparts but there are many things they do better and are ahead of the imports.
bigcjm says:
06:43 PM, 01/11/12
@133712
Man that feature has been around in luxury cars dor about 20 years now. audi, volvo, acuras etc.. You wouldn't know about it unless you had a car with it. It's not listed one the features lists on cars.
ralphhightower says:
03:32 AM, 01/12/12
You mean that driving it from California to Detroit make the Acura think that it's stolen?
Looks like the Acura is not a good road trip car.
cubozoan says:
05:33 AM, 01/12/12
there's usually a card w/ the code on it in that packet of stuff such as owners manual in the glove box
bankerdanny says:
05:49 AM, 01/12/12
The radio in my 1990 CRX had the same radio anti-theft code thing.
Why were the interior lights on manually anyway? If it was bright enough that you forgot they were on then it was bright enough you didn't need them in the first place.
My 1996 Pontiac Sunfire had battery rundown protection standard, so it is disappointing that a 2011 Acura doesn't.
understeer says:
07:59 AM, 01/12/12
kinda dumb since the stereo its built in to the car... codes used back in the days when they used din radios.
fsunole755 says:
09:29 AM, 01/12/12
My 98 Acura CL had the radio security code printed on the back of the ashtray. I wonder if the newer models have it there as well.
lucien4 says:
11:23 AM, 01/12/12
Typically Acura's have a an auto-shutoff of interior lights (I'm certain on the MDX). So this is weird this is missing? You also will get this issue with bad battery obviously but I assume that's been ruled out.
The security code is in the manual which I'd always keep in the car anyway.
That code is overkill and don't see need for it but you can't disable it I believe...
three40duster says:
02:21 PM, 01/12/12
That has been a "feature" of Hondas for about 20 years now. They really really think someone is stealing the stock radios out of their cars. You know, like the radio in the accord that you have to take the whole damn dash to steal.
That said, my days as a rental car guy showed me that there's a card tucked in the owners manual package that has the code on it. So, did you R the FM? It should have been somewhere between the manual and the lemon law brochure.
stovt001 says:
03:07 PM, 01/12/12
Well my brother-in-law just had his Accord stolen and it was recovered less one head-unit. So...
three40duster says:
04:03 PM, 01/12/12
If it's not a brand newish accord, I can see that somewhat, but the new ones are way different.
http://www.speeddoctor.net/media/2011/01/Honda-Accord-2011-interior.jpg
There's no head unit like in the older ones. The 09+ Accords have buttons that protrude from the dashboard, a slot in there, and an aux plug stuck on there too. No real head unit, except the whole middle of the dash.
ar1906 says:
07:39 PM, 01/12/12
Believe it or not, people still steal factory head units. Just recently here in Atlanta a GMC dealer was hit, so this feature doesn't bother me at all.
As far the battery saver feature, this car has it, but it only activates if you leave a door open and the interior lighting is set to "door". If you leave the lighting set to "on", unfortunately the car thinks you want to keep the lights on.
nefariousnigel says:
07:26 PM, 01/15/12
Seems that the North American built Acuras (MDX) have auto-shut off for interior lights.
Japanese built Acuras (TSX) do not.
I own late-model version of both automobiles.
I wonder if the discrepancy is a cultural thing, as in, the Japanese are capable enough to NOT need idiot proof safety nets.
Kind of like Americans were once upon a time....